Residence Act: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress) Manuscript Division (102) The Residence Act , officially titled "An Act for Establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States," was passed on July 16, 1790, and selected a site on the Potomac River as the permanent capital (Washington, D.C.), in ten years times. Also, this act designated Philadelphia as the temporary capital for a period of ten years. The Residence Act was the result of a compromise reached between Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison concerning the permanent location of the Federal capital. In exchange for locating the new capital on the Potomac River, Madison agreed not to block legislation mandating the assumption of the states' debts by the Federal government. Maps: Cities and Towns This category includes maps that depict individual buildings to panoramic views of large urban areas. These maps record the evolution of cities illustrating the development and nature of economic activities, educational and religious facilities, parks, street patterns and widths, and transportation systems.

The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress The complete Thomas Jefferson Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 27,000 documents. The collection is organized into ten series, including Series 3. District of Columbia Miscellany. 1790-1808 . This series contains a wide variety of Jefferson's letters, drawings, maps, and notes that document the building of Washington, D.C. Jefferson's account of the Compromise of 1790 involving the location of the Federal capital is available in the Introduction to the "Anas" from February 4, 1818. "I proposed to him (Hamilton) however to dine with me the next day, and I would invite another friend or two, bring them into conference together, and I thought it impossible that reasonable men, consulting together coolly, could fail, by some mutual sacrifices of opinion, to form a compromise which was to save the union. The discussion took place. I could take no part in it, but an exhortatory one, because I was a stranger to the circumstances which should govern it.

But it was finally agreed that, whatever importance had been attached to the rejection of this proposition, the preservation of the union, & of concord among the states was more important, and that therefore it would be better that the vote of rejection should be rescinded, to effect which some members should change their votes. But it was observed that this pill would be peculiarly bitter to the Southern States, and that some concomitant measure should be adopted to sweeten it a little to them. There had before been propositions to fix the seat of government either at Philadelphia, or at Georgetown on the Potomac; and it was thought that by giving it to Philadelphia for ten years, and to Georgetown permanently afterwards, this might, as an anodyne, calm in some degree the ferment which might be excited by the other measure alone. So two of the Potomac members (White & Lee, but White with a revulsion of stomach almost convulsive) agreed to change their votes, & Hamilton undertook to carry the other point." [ Transcription ] Words and Deeds in American History In honor of the Manuscript Division's centennial, its staff has selected for online display approximately ninety representative documents spanning from the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.

Learn Ten Facts About Washington, D.C. By Amanda Briney Updated January 21, 2016. Washington, D.C., officially called the District of Columbia, is the capital of the United States ( map ). It was founded on July 16, 1790 and today has a city population of 599,657 (2009 estimate) and an area of 68 square miles (177 sq km). It should be noted however, that during the week, Washington, D.C.'s population rises to well over one million people due to suburban commuters. The population of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area was 5.4 million people as of 2009. Washington, D.C. is home to all three branches of the U.S. government as well as many international organizations and the embassies of 174 foreign nations. In addition to being the center of U.S. government, Washington, D.C. is known for its history, many historic national monuments and famous museums like the Smithsonian Institution.

The following is a list of ten important things to know about Washington, D.C.: 1) When Europeans first arrived in what is present-day Washington, D.C. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge in the 17th century the area was inhabited by the Nacotchtank tribe of Native Americans. By the 18th century though, Europeans had relocated the tribe and the region was becoming developed. In 1749, Alexandria, Virginia was founded and in 1751, the Province of Maryland chartered Georgetown along the Potomac River. Eventually both were included in the original Washington, D.C. District. 2) In 1788, James Madison stated that the new U.S. nation would need a capital that was distinct from the states. Shortly thereafter, Article I of the U.S Constitution stated that a district, separate from the states, would become the seat of government. On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act established that this capital district would be located along the Potomac River and President George Washington would decide exactly where. 3) Initially, Washington, D.C. was a square and measured ten miles (16 km) on each side.

First a federal city was constructed near Georgetown and on September 9, 1791, the city was named Washington and the newly established federal district was named Columbia. In 1801, the Organic Act officially organized the District of Columbia and it was expanded to include Washington, Georgetown and Alexandria. 4) In August 1814, Washington, D.C. was attacked by British forces during the War of 1812 and the Capitol, Treasury and White House were all burned. They were quickly repaired however and governmental operations resumed. In 1846, Washington, D.C. lost some of its area when Congress returned all District territory south of the Potomac back to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Organic Act of 1871 then combined the City of Washington, Georgetown and Washington County into a single entity known as the District of Columbia. This is the region that became known as today's Washington, D.C. 5) Today, Washington, D.C. is still considered separate from its neighboring states (Virginia and Maryland) and it is governed by a mayor and a city council. The U.S. Congress however has the highest authority over the area and it can overturn local laws if necessary.

In addition, residents of Washington, D.C. were not allowed to vote in presidential elections until 1961. Washington, D.C. also has a non-voting Congressional delegate but it does not have any senators. 6) Washington, D.C. currently has a large growing economy that is mainly focused on the service-sector and government jobs. According to Wikipedia, in 2008, federal government jobs made up 27% of the jobs in Washington, D.C. In addition to government jobs, Washington, D.C. also has industries related to education, finance and research. 7) The total area of Washington, D.C. today is 68 square miles (177 sq km) - all of which formerly belonged to Maryland. The area is surrounded by Maryland on three sides and Virginia to the south. The highest point in Washington, D.C. is Point Reno at 409 feet (125 m) and it is located in the Tenleytown neighborhood. Much of Washington, D.C. is parkland and the district was highly planned during its initial construction. Washington, D.C. is divided into four quadrants: the Northwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest ( map ).

Each quadrant radiates out from the Capitol building . 8) The climate of Washington, D.C. is considered humid subtropical. It has cold winters with average snowfall at about 14.7 inches (37 cm) and hot, humid summers. The average January low temperature is 27.3˚F (-3˚C) while the average July high is 88˚F (31˚C). 9) As of 2007, Washington, D.C. had a population distribution of 56% African American, 36% White, 3% Asian and 5% other. The district has had a significant population of African Americans since its founding largely because of the freeing of slaves in the southern states following the American Revolution . Recently however, the percentage of African Americans has been declining in Washington, D.C. as more of the population moves to the suburbs. 10) Washington, D.C. is considered a cultural center of the U.S. because of its many National Historic Landmarks, museums and historic places such as the Capitol and White House . Washington, D.C.

is home to the National Mall which is a large park within the city and it contains museums like the Smithsonian and the National Museum of Natural History. The Washington Monument is located on the west end of the National Mall. To learn more about Washington, D.C., visit DC.gov , the official website of the Government of Washington, D.C and About.com's Washington, D.C. site . References Wikipedia.org. (5 October 2010). Washington Monument - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: Wikipedia.org. (30 September 2010). Washington, D.C. - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | NARPAC, Inc. REPRINTS HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA When the United States Constitution was adopted on September 15, 1787, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, included language authorizing the establishment of a federal district. This district was not to exceed 10 miles square, under the exclusive legislative authority of Congress.

On July 16, 1790, Congress authorized President George Washington to choose a permanent site for the capital city and, on December 1, 1800, the capital was moved from Philadelphia to an area along the Potomac River. The census of 1800 showed that the new capital had a population of 14,103. The District of Columbia Bicentennial Commission was established to develop plans for the celebration of various anniversary dates in District of Columbia history. The commission is comprised of 39 members with a specified number of commissioners appointed by the mayor, the chairman of the D.C. Council, council members, the District delegate to the House of Representatives, the courts, and the District of Columbia Bar.

Among the events celebrated are the 200th anniversary of the Residency Act, which established that there shall be a permanent seat of government on the Potomac River (July 16, 1990); the 200th anniversary of President George Washington's proclamation of the site for the federal district (January 24, 1991); and the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Pierre L'Enfant, Benjamin Banneker and Andrew Ellicott. The commission may designate other bicentennial events for celebration. There have been several forms of appointed and elected governments in the District of Columbia: an appointed, three-member commission (1790-1802); elected councils and an appointed mayor (1802-1820); elected councils and an elected mayor (1820-1871); an appointed governor, a two-house legislature (one appointed and the other elected), and an elected , non-voting delegate to the Congress (1871-1874); and another appointed, three-member commission (1874-1967).

Following the defeat by Congress of a home rule effort in 1967, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson reorganized the District government and created the positions of an appointed mayor/commissioner and an appointed nine-member council. District residents won the right to vote in a presidential election on March 29, 1961, to elect a board of education in 1968 and, in 1970, to elect a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives. In 1973, Congress approved a bill that provided District residents with an elected form of government with limited home rule authority; as a result, District residents voted for a mayor and a council for the first time in more than 100 years. District residents accepted the home rule charter by referendum vote in 1974. Congress delegated to the District government the authority, functions and powers of a state, with a very important exception: Congress retains control over the District's revenue and expenditures by annually reviewing the entire District government budget. In addition, Congress has repeatedly prohibited the District from imposing a non-resident income tax.

In 1980, District voters approved a statehood initiative by a majority of 60 percent; delegates to a statehood constitutional convention were elected in 1981 and, in 1983, a bill for the admission of the state of New Columbia was introduced in Congress. The "Constitution for the State of New Columbia" is still under congressional consideration and is reintroduced into each new congressional session. Under the specifications of the statehood initiatives, most of the land area of the District of Columbia would become the state of New Columbia; the District of Columbia would continue to exist, albeit reduced in size to an area consisting of the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Mall and federal monuments and government buildings adjacent to the Mall. CHRONOLOGY OF SOME EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA May 15, 1751: The Maryland Assembly appoints commissioners to lay a town on the Potomac River, above the mouth of Rock Creek, on 60 acres of land to be purchased from George Gordon and George Beall. This settlement becomes Georgetown.

February 27, 1752: The survey and plat of Georgetown into 80 lots is completed. September 17, 1787: The Constitution is signed by the members of the Constitutional Convention. June 21, 1788: The 1788 U.S. Constitution, as adopted by the Constitutional Convention on September 15, 1787, is ratified by the states. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, gives Congress authority "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States...." July 16, 1790: The Residency Act of 1790 gives the president power to choose a site for the capital city on the east bank of the Potomac River between the mouth of the Eastern Branch and the Connogocheague Creek (now Conococheague) near Hagerstown, nearly 70 miles upstream.

January 22, 1791: George Washington appoints Thomas Johnson and Daniel Carroll of Rock Creek, representing Maryland and Dr. David Stuart, to represent Virginia, as "Commissioners for surveying the District of (sic) Territory accepted by the said Act for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States...." January 24, 1791: President George Washington selects a site that includes portions of Maryland and Virginia. December 1, 1800: The federal capital is transferred from Philadelphia to the site on the Potomac River now called the City of Washington, in the territory of Columbia. At the time of the 1800 census, the population of the new capital included 10,066 whites, 793 free Negroes and 3,244 slaves. February 27, 1801: Congress divides the [District] into the counties of Washington and Alexandria. May 3, 1802: Congress grants the City of Washington its first municipal charter. Voters, defined as white males who pay taxes and have lived in the city for at least a year, receive the right to elect a 12-member council.

The mayor is appointed by the president. May 4, 1812: Congress amends the charter of the City of Washington to provide for an eight-member board of aldermen and a 12-member common council. The aldermen and the common council elect the mayor. March 15, 1820: Under the Act of 1820, Congress amends the Charter of the City of Washington for the direct election of the mayor by resident voters. July 9, 1846: Congress passes a law returning the city of Alexandria and Alexandria County to the state of Virginia. May 17, 1848: Congress adopts a new charter for the City of Washington and expands the number of elected offices to include a board of assessors, a surveyor, a collector and a registrar. April 16, 1862: Congress abolishes slavery in the federal district (the City of Washington, Washington County, and Georgetown). This action predates both the Emancipation Proclamation and the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. January 8, 1867:Congress grants black males the right to vote in local elections.

June 1, 1871: The elected mayor and council of Washington City and Georgetown, and the County Levy Court are abolished by Congress and replaced by a governor and council appointed by the president. An elected House of Delegates and a non-voting delegate to Congress are created. In this act, the jurisdiction and territorial government came to be called the District of Columbia, thus combining the governments of Georgetown, the City of Washington and the County of Washington. A seal and motto, "Justitia Omnibus" (Justice for All), are adopted for the District of Columbia. June 20, 1874: The territorial government of the District of Columbia, including the non-voting delegate to Congress, is abolished. Three temporary commissioners and a subordinate military engineer are appointed by the president. June 11, 1878: In The Organic Act of 1878, Congress approves the establishment of the District of Columbia government as a municipal corporation governed by three presidentially appointed commissioners _ two civilian commissioners and a commissioner from the military corps of engineers. This form of government lasted until August 1967.

July 4, 1906: The District Building, on 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, becomes the official City Hall. July 1, 1952: The Reorganization Plan of 1952 transfers to the three commissioners the functions of more than 50 boards. March 29, 1961: The 23rd Amendment to the Constitution gives District residents the right to vote for president. February 20, 1967: The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is created through a compact between the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. April 22, 1968: District residents receive the right to elect a Board of Education. December 24, 1973: Congress approves the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, P.L. 93-198, which establishes an elected mayor and a 13-member council. May 7, 1974: Voters of the District of Columbia approve by referendum the District Charter and the establishment of advisory neighborhood commissions. General elections are held for mayor and council on November 5, 1974.

January 2, 1975: The newly elected Mayor Walter Washington and first elected council take office. February 3, 1976: The first election for advisory neighborhood commissioners is held. March 29, 1978: The first segment of the Metrorail Red Line opens. August 22, 1978: Congress approves the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, which would give District residents voting representation in the House and the Senate. The proposed constitutional amendment was not ratified by the necessary number of states (38) within the allotted seven years. January 2, 1979: The Mayor Marion Barry takes office. November 4, 1980: District electors approve the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention of 1979, which became D.C. Law 3-171 and which called for convening a state constitutional convention. November 2, 1982: After the constitutional convention, a Constitution for the State of New Columbia is ratified by District voters. October 1, 1984: The District enters the municipal bond market.

October 29, 1986: Congress approves an amendment to the District of Columbia Stadium Act of 1957, which authorizes the transfer of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia government. February 20, 1987: The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is created to acquire Washington National and Washington - Dulles International airports from the federal government, pursuant to P.L. 99-151, The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986. The authority begins operating the airports on June 7, 1987. October 1, 1987: Saint Elizabeth's Hospital is transferred to the District of Columbia government pursuant to P.L. 98-621, The St. Elizabeth's Hospital and the D.C. Mental Health Services Act of 1984. January 2, 1992: Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon, the first woman mayor, takes office. January 2, 1995: Marion Barry takes office for an unprecedented fourth term as Mayor of the District of Columbia.

April 17, 1995: President Clinton signed the law creating a presidentially appointed District of Columbia Financial Control Board and a mayor-appointed Chief Financial Officer. July 13, 1995: The newly appointed financial control board holds its first public meeting. It is composed of Dr. Andrew Brimmer, chair; and members: Joyce A. Ladner, Constance B. Newman, Stephen D. Harlan and Edward A. Singletary. John Hill is the Executive Director and Daniel Rezneck is the General Counsel. February 14, 1996: Mayor Barry announces a transformation plan to reduce the size of government and increase its efficiency. Source: Office of Public Records 8 Forgotten Capitals of the United States - History in the Headlines 8 Forgotten Capitals of the United States July 16, 2015 By Christopher Klein Share What was America's first capital city? The answer might surprise you.

Share this: 8 Forgotten Capitals of the United States Author 8 Forgotten Capitals of the United States URL Google On July 16, 1790, President George Washington signed the Residence Act, which called for the construction of a permanent capital city for the United States of America along the banks of the Potomac River. When the federal government—and all 131 of its workers—finally moved there in 1800, Washington, D.C., became the ninth American capital since the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence. Explore the eight other locales that were once the seats of American power. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Credit: trekandshoot/iStockphoto.com After the Continental Congress met inside Philadelphia’s Carpenter’s Hall in 1774, it reassembled the following spring inside the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall), where it adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Philadelphia had various stints as the home of the Continental Congress and its successor under the Articles of Confederation, which was enacted in 1781.

As stipulated by the Residence Act, Philadelphia served as the temporary capital of the United States of America between 1790 and 1800 while Washington, D.C., was being built. Baltimore, Maryland Credit: visionsbyAtlee/iStockphoto.com As British troops closed in on Philadelphia at the end of 1776, the Continental Congress decided to abandon the city and flee south to the safer haven of Baltimore. Bypassing the city’s old courthouse, delegates instead convened on December 20, 1776, inside the spacious house and tavern of Henry Fite. The three-story brick building, redubbed “Congress Hall,” was among the largest in Baltimore and outside the possible artillery range of the British navy. Warmed by the two fireplaces inside the house’s long chamber, delegates learned of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River and his surprise victories at Trenton and Princeton. With the British threat to Philadelphia blunted, the Continental Congress reconvened inside Independence Hall on March 4, 1777. Fire destroyed the Henry Fite House in 1904.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Credit: ben_krut/iStockphoto.com The present-day heart of Amish country was once the heart of the American government—if only for a day. In the late summer of 1777, the Redcoats again advanced on Philadelphia, and after Washington’s disastrous defeat at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the Continental Congress evacuated the city. Delegates fled 65 miles to the west and on September 27, 1777, met inside Lancaster’s county courthouse. Faced with the difficulty of finding suitable lodging and continued concerns about their safety, the delegates’ official business consisted mainly of deciding how quickly they could leave Lancaster. After the legislative equivalent of a cup of coffee, the Continental Congress adjourned its one-day session inside the courthouse, which was destroyed by a fire in the 1780s, and continued to move west. York, Pennsylvania Finding a more secure position 25 miles west of Lancaster behind the Susquehanna River, the Continental Congress convened inside the York County Court House on September 30, 1777.

During the government’s nine-month stay in the central Pennsylvania hamlet, it approved the Articles of Confederation, which took effect after its 1781 ratification by the states, and signed an alliance treaty with France. After receiving word in June 1778 that the British had evacuated Philadelphia, the Continental Congress returned to the city and found Independence Hall left “in a most filthy and sordid situation” according to New Hampshire delegate Josiah Bartlett. Princeton, New Jersey Nearly two years after the 1781 victory at Yorktown, the American government was once again forced to flee its regular home in Philadelphia—only this time it wasn’t the British threatening the delegates’ safety, but frustrated Continental Army soldiers demanding the back pay they had been promised. “In order that further and more effectual measures may be taken for suppressing the present revolt, and maintaining the dignity and authority of the United States,” delegates decided in the summer of 1783 to move 40 miles northeast to the campus of the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University).

The Congress of Confederation met inside Nassau Hall, the nation’s largest academic building, which ironically had been bombarded by patriot troops during the 1777 Battle of Princeton. During its four-month stay inside the enormous stone building, which still stands on the Princeton campus, the United States government received its first foreign minister, a diplomat from the Netherlands, as well as word of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the American Revolution. Annapolis, Maryland Continuing to avoid Philadelphia, the nomadic Congress continued its travels to the Maryland capital. Under the leaky dome of the still unfinished Maryland State House, delegates first convened on November 26, 1783. Inside the Senate chamber, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783, to return to Mount Vernon as a private citizen. Congress also ratified the Treaty of Paris in Annapolis on January 14, 1784, before leaving the Maryland capital in August 1784. The Maryland State House remains the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, and Washington’s personal copy of his resignation speech is on display in its rotunda.

Trenton, New Jersey The Congress of Confederation ensured plenty of “spirited” debates by making its next home in the French Arms Tavern, the largest building in the future New Jersey state capital. Delegates first convened in the three-story-high structure, leased by the New Jersey legislature, on November 1, 1784. Beyond a farewell address by the Marquis de Lafayette, little business of note took place before the Congress adjourned on Christmas Eve and decided to move on to New York City. The building returned to its use as a tavern before being razed in 1837 to make room for a bank. New York City Credit: Sean Pavone/iStockphoto.com In January 1785, the Congress of Confederation convened in New York’s old City Hall on Wall Street, and for more than five years Gotham served as the seat of American power. After the ratification of the United States Constitution, delegates met briefly at Fraunces Tavern as the old City Hall was remodeled to become the first capitol building for the new national government.

On the second-floor balcony of the newly renamed Federal Hall, Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789. A statue of Washington overlooking Wall Street now stands outside a reconstruction of Federal Hall. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today. Tags Washington, D.C. - The Vault Fallout wiki - Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas, and more! History[ edit | edit source ] An Algonquian-speaking people known as the Nacotchtank inhabited the area around the Anacostia River when the first Europeans arrived in the 17th century. However, the Nacotchtank people had largely relocated from the area by the early 18th century. On July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act , which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River . The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, who signed the bill into law on July 16.

Formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). Two preexisting settlements were included in the territory: the port of Georgetown, Maryland founded in 1751, and the city of Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1749. A new "federal city" was then constructed on the north bank of the Potomac, to the east of Georgetown. On September 9, 1791, the three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington. The Organic Act of 1801 officially organized the District of Columbia and placed the federal territory under the exclusive control of Congress. The District was organized into two counties, Washington on the east side of the Potomac River, and Alexandria on the west side. Following this Act, citizens located in the District were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, thus ending their representation in Congress Almost immediately after the Organic Act of 1801, Congress took up proposals for the return of the territory to the states, all of which failed.

Members of Congress proposed retrocession because they found disenfranchisement of the District's residents to be unacceptable. Other Congressmen were of the opinion that the District could not be immediately returned without the consent of the residents and the legislatures of Maryland and Virginia. Some representatives rejected the idea of retrocession entirely and concluded that the Congress lacked the constitutional authority to return the territory. On July 9th, 1846 the 29th Congress returned Arlington County to Virginia. [1] Congress created a single municipal government for the whole District of Columbia after the American Civil War . In the early 21st century, when the United States of America was divided into thirteen commonwealths, Washington, D.C. became part of the Columbia Commonwealth , along with Virginia and Maryland. In the years leading to the Great War , the city was fortified against nuclear attacks. But the real threat lurked beneath the radar, as a sizable Chinese infiltrator force was operating within and without the city, as the Sino-American War raged on. When the Great War came, it reduced most of the city to irradiated ruins, although many of the landmarks survived the devastation.

The Mall[ edit | edit source ] The Mall is the location encompassing the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Museum of History, Museum of Technology, the National Archives and the Capitol. The Capitol building and Lincoln Memorial are on the far ends, the Washington Monument near the center, and the Museums are on the sides. The central clearing that encompasses the Mall is carved with trenches, the origins of which is unknown. Washington Monument[ edit | edit source ] In the center of the National Mall stands a massive marble, granite and gneiss monolith that commemorates President George Washington . The Washington Monument now has a large rubble concrete wall surrounding it, and is guarded by a few Brotherhood of Steel soldiers. It also houses the Galaxy News Radio dish at the top of the building. Lincoln Memorial[ edit | edit source ] Across from the Washington Monument and its radioactive reflecting pool rests the Lincoln Memorial . Built between 1914 and 1922, the memorial has seen better days: the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln is missing its head, which has since been relocated to the Temple of the Union , and slavers patrol the grounds.

The escaped slaves of the Temple of the Union intend to reclaim the memorial as a bastion for all escaped slaves, [2] although the slavers who have already captured the memorial seek to snatch up any slaves that come to them. [3] Museum of History[ edit | edit source ] The Museum of History appears to have adequately weathered the Great War, save for all of the feral ghouls that have taken up residence in the exhibition halls. Due to the decaying ruins, the entryways to the World War II , Anchorage Reclamation and Resource Wars exhibits are collapsed, leaving only the Abraham Lincoln exhibit partially intact. The museum is also the site of Underworld , a city of ghouls , built into an art exhibit dedicated to life after death in line with the book Paradise Lost . Museum of Technology[ edit | edit source ] The Museum of Technology has suffered a similar fate as its historical counterpart. The building dedicated to man's ingenuity and bold thinking has become a dilapidated husk of its former self. Super mutants stalk the halls, disregarding the achievements of yesteryear, like its still functional Vault exhibit, Delta IX rocket exhibit, the Virgo II lunar lander, and the Wright Brothers Flyer .

National Archives[ edit | edit source ] Between the Washington Monument and the Capitol and to the north is the National Archives . The building that was charged to preserve and document historical and government records is actually quite intact. Most of the archives are kept in a secure underground bunker, so only two centuries of neglect have effected the interior. Super mutants have also established a base of operations within the archives. The Capitol Building[ edit | edit source ] An original sketch of the Capitol building. Atop Capitol Hill rests the Capitol building . The war and years of neglect have severely damaged the walls and central dome, and it certainly does not help that Talon Company , Enclave , and the super mutants are all battling for control of the building. Jefferson Memorial[ edit | edit source ] The Jefferson Memorial sketch. The Jefferson Memorial was the site of Project Purity in the late 2250s but has since been abandoned. It serves as the focal point of many of the main quests, particularly Take it Back! . White House[ edit | edit source ] The White House also still exists... sort of. The grounds where the President of the United States lived has been reduced to a gigantic irradiated crater, indicative of a nuclear warhead finding its intended target.

Only a small basement layer remains. Matt's Today in History: The District of Columbia Created, July 16, 1790 The District of Columbia Created, July 16, 1790 Listen here Today in 1790, the Residence Act was signed into law by US President George Washington. The act designated Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the temporary capital of the United States, but it also gave the President the power to create a federal district to serve as the permanent capital. Thus was born Washington, District of Columbia. The location of the new nation's capital was the source of much heated debate in the early days of the United States. The early federal government had met in both New York and Philadelphia. That a southern state would be the home of the new federal district was agreed upon by two of the Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson, who was then Secretary of State, agreed to Hamilton's proposal that the government assume all state debts incurred during the Revolutionary War. In exchange, Hamilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury, agreed to Jefferson's proposal that the capital be located in a southern state.

Both men worked their political magic and the Residence Act passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate by narrow margins. Both Maryland and Virginia agreed to cede land for the new district to be located on the Potomac River. It would be 100 square miles in area, 10 miles per side. President Washington wanted to include the town of Alexandria, Virginia within the district, which required the Congress to amend the Residence Act in 1791 so that the area could be included. Several Congressmen became aware of the fact that Washington and his family owned land in Alexandria, and so the revised act also stated that no federal buildings were to be built on the Virginia (or Alexandria) side of the Potomac River. President Washington chose Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French-born American architect, to lay out the capital city. L'Enfant's plan called for the Capitol Building to be the center of a grid crossed by diagonal streets named after the states of the Union. The city would be filled will large traffic circles and plazas to be named after great Americans not yet born.

On L'Enfant's map was a narrow street named Pennsylvania Avenue that would connect the Capitol Building with the Presidential Palace, a very royal-sounding name for the building that would eventually come to be called the White House. In the fall of 1791, the federal district was officially named The Territory of Columbia and the city within was named The City of Washington. The next year, the President dismissed L'Enfant and replaced him with Andrew Ellicott, a surveyor who would become well-known for his work in the new nation's western territories. In addition to his numerous disagreements with the commissioners appointed over him, legend has it that L'Enfant was fired over a dispute with a local resident who did not want to sell his house to the federal government to make way for a new avenue. L'Enfant supposedly had the man lured from his house under false pretenses and then blew the structure up while he was gone. This makes one glad that our rights of eminent domain have changed a little over the years. Ellicott revised L'Enfant's plans and made them his own. By 1800, the new city was far enough along that the federal government could begin moving in.

On February 27, 1801, Congress took formal possession of the district. The District of Columbia is far enough down the Potomac River that ocean-going ships of the early 19th century could unload their cargo right at the city docks. This was good from an economic standpoint, but bad in terms of defense. The residents of Washington learned this lesson well on August 24, 1814, when British forces burned much of the capital during their most daring raid of the War of 1812. The Presidential Mansion (as the White House was then named), the Capitol Building, the Navy Yard, the Treasury Building, the War Office and others were all damaged to varying degrees by the fire. The Marine Barracks at 8th and I Streets, however, was not touched out of respect for the courage and skill of the Marines who had fought in the recent Battle of Bladensburg. It was also said that the British force sailing up the Potomac to raid the capital lowered their flags out of respect as they passed Mount Vernon, the late President George Washington's home.

It didn't take long for residents of the district south of the Potomac, in Virginia, to begin asking that their land be turned back over to the state. Essentially, every politician in the city lived north of the Potomac, so the infrastructure needs of the Virginia side were all but ignored. Furthermore, the residents of Alexandria now had no Congressional representation or local government. Essentially, the couldn't vote for anything. In 1846, Congress yielded to the citizens' requests and agreed to return 39 square miles of the district to Virginia. After 1871, the city of Washington and the District of Columbia became the same entity for all intents and purposes. Since 1973, the district has had it's own municipal government, although Congress still has supreme authority over the area. DC does have a representative in Congress, but the post is non-voting. Today, the 69 square mile district is home to over 581,000 people. Posted by Washington Dc Weather - Washington DC Net Worth Washington Dc Weather Read more... Washington DC Washington DC Net Worth is 4,488,100 Population.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the Unit. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to a... Washington DC Net Worth is 4,488,100 Population. Washington DC Net Worth is 4,488,100 Population. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the Unit Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. As permitted by the U.S. Constitution, the District is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States Congress and is therefore not a part of any U.S. state.

The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the preexisting settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria; however, Congress returned the Virginia portion in 1846. Named in honor of George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. Congress created a single municipal government for the whole District of Columbia after the American Civil War. Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 617,996 in 2011, the 25th most pop... Today in History - July 16 | Library of Congress Library of Congress Today in History - July 16 July 16 Listen to this page Let Us Now Praise Famous Men On July 16, 1936, photographer Walker Evans (1903-75) took a leave of absence from the Farm Security Administration (FSA) to accept a summer assignment with Fortune magazine. Evans, who had begun working as a photographer in 1928, had developed a modest reputation by the time that he was hired in October 1935 by Roy Stryker, then leader of the FSA photographic section.

Stryker agreed to grant him leave for the magazine assignment on the condition that his photographs remained government property. Walker Evans, profile, hand up to face . Edwin Locke, photographer, February 1937. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black and White Negatives . Prints & Photographs Division Evans and the writer James Agee spent several weeks among sharecropper families in Hale County, Alabama. The article they produced documented in words and images the lives of poor Southern farmers afflicted by the Great Depression; their work, however, did not meet Fortune‘s expectations and was rejected for publication. Washstand in the dog run and kitchen of Floyd Burroughs’ cabin, Hale County, Alabama . Walker Evans, photographer, circa 1935-1936. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black and White Negatives . Prints & Photographs Division. Evans’ desire to produce photographs that were “pure record not propaganda” did not harmonize with Stryker’s emphasis on the use of the image to promote social activism. Soon after the Alabama series was completed, Evans returned to New York. There Evans and Agee reworked their material and searched for another publisher.

In 1941, the expanded version of their story was published in book form as Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, now recognized as a masterpiece of the art of photojournalism. Walker Evans went on to exhibit and publish his work (he was a staff photographer at Fortune, 1945-65) and to teach at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture. James Agee became one of America’s most influential film critics as well as a poet, novelist, and screenwriter. James Agee died in 1955; Walker Evans died in 1975. Learn More Search the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black and White Negatives collection on the phrase Hale County, to view photographs taken by Evans in Hale County, Alabama, which furnished material for Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Additional essays about the collection, participating photographers and examples of their work are available in the Articles and Essays section of the presentation. See also: Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Photographs. A complementary collection, Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Charles L.

Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941 , documents the everyday life of residents in the FSA’s migrant work camps in central California during 1940 and 1941. Many of the individuals whose stories and songs are gathered in this collection shared both the socioeconomic and historic experience of the individuals documented by James Agee and Walker Evans. Search on depression in American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1940 for depression-era stories. A Capital City On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act , which stipulated that the president select a site on the Potomac River as the permanent capital of the United States following a ten-year temporary residence in Philadelphia, was signed into law. In a proclamation issued on January 24, 1791, President George Washington announced the permanent location of the new capital, an area of land at the confluence of the Potomac and Eastern Branch (Anacostia) rivers that would eventually become the District of Columbia . Soon after, Washington commissioned French engineer Pierre-Charles L’Enfant to create a plan for the city.

Plan of the City Intended for the Permanent Seat of the Government , by Pierre Charles L’Enfant. Manuscript map on paper, 1791. American Treasures of the Library of Congress . Geography & Map Division L’Enfant arrived in Georgetown on March 9, 1791, and submitted his report and plan to the president in August. It is believed that this plan is the one preserved in the Library of Congress. L’Enfant’s plan was greatly influenced by the traditions of Baroque landscape architecture and his projections of a future city population of 800,000. Its scheme of broad radiating avenues connecting significant focal points, its open spaces, and its grid pattern of streets oriented north, south, east, and west is still the gold standard against which all modern land use proposals for the Nation’s capital are considered. The glorious vistas and dramatic landscape of today’s Washington are a result of L’Enfant’s careful planning. From the steps of the U.S. Capitol one can gaze down the mall to the Washington Monument and on to the Lincoln Memorial . Washington Dc Is In What State - Washington DC Net Worth Washington Dc Is In What State Read more...

Washington DC Washington DC Net Worth is 4,488,100 Population. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the Unit. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to a... Washington DC Net Worth is 4,488,100 Population. Washington DC Net Worth is 4,488,100 Population. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the Unit Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. As permitted by the U.S. Constitution, the District is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States Congress and is therefore not a part of any U.S. state.

The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the preexisting settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria; however, Congress returned the Virginia portion in 1846. Named in honor of George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. Congress created a single municipal government for the whole District of Columbia after the American Civil War. Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 617,996 in 2011, the 25th most pop...

Question: Signed on July 16, 1790, the Residence Act established what as the US Capitol?
Answer: Washington DC